Gazidis says when Wenger does eventually call time on management, he wants to make sure his successor retains the same values instilled at the club by the Frenchman.

He told the Mirror: "At the same time, as a club, we have to make sure that all of the things that Arsene has brought to the club are enshrined in our DNA to make sure that when the day comes when Arsene decides it's time to hang up his boots - I don't know what the expression is as a manager - that we are in a position to take his ideas and work forward.

"The values that Arsene has brought to the club together with the values the club had before Arsene are what will inform us - and I don't want to give any indication that this is happening - and give us the framework as to who might take over from him in the longer term."